Epilogue One

Luna

Several months later

I could feel the tension radiating from Banner, knew he was on alert, could smell his wolf right at the surface. And when I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, I could see how tight his body was, his muscles constricting against his golden skin. His nostrils flared as he inhaled, and I knew what he smelled.

My brother Adryan was here.

After months in the Highlands of just getting to know each other… in all ways, we'd taken a boat back across the ocean, an almost weeklong journey where I was embarrassingly more seasick than not. But Banner had made it bearable, rubbing my back, holding my hair out of my face as I emptied my stomach, and whispering to me in his deep voice, his Gaelic lulling and soothing.

The entire trip was more of a blur than anything else, and I'd never been more thankful to be back on solid land than when I had stepped off that boat.

And that was saying something since we were currently in Ryeka, New York, and about to pay my brother a visit on his territory.

"This is a fortress, darlin'." Banner tightened his hold on my waist and pulled me closer to the side of his body. "Yer brother has trust issues."

I chuckled softly because he didn't know how true his words were. I rested my head on his chest and stared at the home that had always been a comfort of mine. Or I thought it had been until Banner had come into my life.

The truth was, at least for me, before you found your mate, the life you lived was just a bandage, something keeping you together. It was when you finally found your other half that you were whole, not realizing you'd been missing the most integral part of you until that very moment.

"I love you," I said softly and looked up at Banner. He was already focused on me, his eyes flashing blue as a slow, almost lazy grin spread across his face. He tipped my head back a little farther with his forefinger under my chin and lowered his face to brush a kiss across my mouth.

"Yeah." My brother"s annoying voice pierced through the hazy thickness of desire that slowly started to swirl around Banner and me. "We aren't going to do that shit here or now."

Banner growled low but gave me one more long, lingering kiss, swiping his tongue across the seam of my lips as if to antagonize my brother. I would've laughed, or maybe rolled my eyes if my mate and Adryan weren't so much alike in regards that they were annoying alphas who always had to have the last word.

"Why don't ye fuck off, vampire?"

"Okay, okay, okay," I interjected, stepping in front of Banner just as Adryan came out from the shadows. Although he looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, I could see the slight narrowing of his eyes as he stared at my mate. "How about we don't start this reunion with a big pissing contest?"

Everything was tense for a few seconds before I finally felt Banner relax. Then my brother shrugged his massive shoulders.

"I can pretend like he's tolerable while you're here." Adryan gave me a slow smile, and I huffed out an exasperated breath.

The level of arrogance and alphaness between these two important males in my life could have drowned me.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Adryan," I said irritably, my voice rising as my annoyance peaked. "Please, can we just get along? Can you pretend with your actions and not just your words that you'll do this for me?" Banner had his hand on the small of my back, his fingers flexing against me. I had to give my mate credit because he stood down when I knew he wanted to put my brother in his place.

It was a whole alpha thing coming full circle.

Finally Adryan lifted his hands up, palms forward in a faux display of whatever surrender my coldhearted brother could muster. He gestured toward the front entrance of the home, the smile he gave Banner arrogant in every single possible way. Although I could play it off as if these two would eventually get used to each other, maybe even find common ground and enjoy each other"s company over time, I knew that would be a lie.

They were both too hard-headed, stubborn in every single way. There would never be any common ground between these two, just a push and pull and butting of heads that would infuriate me to no end.

And as I felt Banner slip his hand into mine, looked up at him, and saw all the possessiveness, all the love and devotion reflected back at me, I knew nothing else mattered.

Not my hard-headed brother.

Not whether anyone would accept us, or even approve of what we shared.

I didn't care about any of that, because the only important thing to me and my future was standing right beside me, giving me all the strength that he had and more.

* * *

"Lass, yer brother is fooking insane."

I laughed softly as I walked into the lavatory that was connected to my room. The laugh was a bit strained because truth be told, Banner was absolutely right. Adryan had never been "right." Not only did he inherit our father's warped mind, but the amount of violence and toxicity that he"d surrounded himself with in his short twenty-some odd years in this world made him even more unbalanced.

For the last few hours, I'd shown Banner the only home I'd known—up until I'd met him, that was. I didn't feel like this was home anymore. Because my home was where Banner was.

We'd had a meal with Adryan, which had started off nicely enough because my brother had kept his smartass comments to himself. But then he'd started guzzling the whiskey and started "reminiscing" about all the kills to his enemies he'd made throughout the years.

And my brother, being the arrogant asshole he was, started goading Banner, talking about how he doubted my mate had not made nearly as many kills as "the most dangerous vampire in the world," despite Bannerhaving centuries of age on Adryan.

And that, in turn, had my wolf bristling, his own alpha arrogance rising up at the clear challenge of his prowess and virility. Voices had started to rise, their big bodies rising from their chairs as growls and their aggression filled the dining room.

That's when I called it a night, excused us from the table, and told Adryan he should go sleep off his annoying intoxication on the other side of the house. Thankfully he left, telling me he had "hunting" to do and didn't want to be in the same house where "disgusting happenings" were sure to go down.

To say I was uncomfortable realizing what my brother was referring to was an understatement. And to top it off and make things even more awkward, Banner, being a smug alpha, didn't deny he had every intention of mating with me. My face was still on fire over all that, and the need to just bury my head in a hole somewhere in the middle of the desert sounded more appealing.

But here we were, back in my bedroom, the house pleasantly empty as the staff had all left as well. I could feel the tension leave me as I shut the door and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I exhaled the weary breath I'd been holding. And the longer I stood there, the more my body started to loosen… heat.

I thought about how strong Banner was, how powerful his body was when he was above me, behind me as he took me in a brutal, savage way, as he growled in a primal way, fucking me until I was sore between my thighs and his seed coated my inner thighs.

Gods, he always orgasmed so hard, came so much that I felt his seed slipping from my body even the following day.

And it turned me on, even now.

I bathed as quickly as possible, making sure to keep all scents out of the water and off my skin, knowing how much it turned Banner on smelling my natural aroma.

Knowing how hard it got him.

And with each passing moment, I grew more and more aroused until the very air brushing along my skin lit me up. I kept the towel wrapped around me, not bothering to get dressed, knowing it was time to show Banner he wasn't the only one who had power.

I stepped out of the lavatory, expecting Banner to already be in bed or possibly stoking the fire in the mantle. But instead I found my mate twenty feet from where I stood, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, his chest pumping up and down from his exerted breathing.

And when I lowered my gaze down his wide, hard chest, I wasn't surprised to see his huge erection pressing against his trews.

"Come here, lass," he said low and deep and in a tone that had the fine hairs on my arms standing on end.

But I didn"t move. This was about showing Banner I held power, too, that although he was a hundred times stronger than me physically, I could still make him weak. And so I stood there a second and just stared at him until finally his lip lifted in a smirk. Only then did I move, taking a step closer, and then closer still until I stood a foot from him and could smell the rich, dark scent that clung to him.

I felt my pussy become even wetter so much that I felt a line of my arousal slip down my inner thigh. I didn't clench my legs, and instead widened my stance just a fraction so I knew he'd smell the concentrated aroma of my need for him.

"Mmm," he groaned. "My female is hungry for me, isn't she?"

I didn't respond, just moved that short distance that separated us and sank to my knees. His eyes flared, his jaw clenched, and I watched the way his throat worked when he swallowed.

I'd surprised him. Good.

"Luna?"

"Shhh," I whispered, and while staring into his eyes, I reached up and started working his trousers undone until the already hard, thick length of his cock sprang free and right into my waiting hand.

His flesh filled my palm in the most masculine ways, his dick overflowing in my grasp and making my pussy clench.

Neither one of us said anything, and the only thing I could hear was the racing of my heart and Banner's frantic breathing. I started stroking him from root to tip, my fingers not able to touch as I gripped his girth, my mouth watering in preparation for trying to take all of that dick. But I was going to try. Gods help me, I was going to try.

I looked at his erection, the head flared and slightly darker than the rest of him, the slit at the tip already dripping pre-cum. I kept a slow, steady pace of moving my palm up and down his length, watching as his balls tightened visibly, hearing the hitch in his breath and the growl in his voice every time I twisted my hand when I got up to the tip.

In my peripheral vision, I could see how tightly his hands were clenched at his sides, his knuckles white, the scent of blood from his palms being cut open because of his claws filling the air and making me hungry for more than just his cock. But that's not what right now was about.

I looked back into his face and watched as he opened his mouth. I knew he was about to question what was happening, maybe even talk me out of it, so before he could do that, I dragged my tongue over the slit nice and slowly.

His flavor exploded on my tongue, his flavor salty and musky and so addicting I wanted more. I'd only tasted him this way once before, but he'd been so frantic for me that all I'd managed was to suck on the head and swallow some of that delicious pre-cum before he hauled me up and plunged his cock deep in my pussy.

But I wanted to take my time right now—well, as much as I could. As much as his wolf would allow. Because although I held a hell of a lot of power where he was concerned, an Otherworld male wasn't the best at letting somebody else take control, even if it was their mate.

I sucked the head into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the crown, pressing gently into the slit. He grunted above me, and I felt his hands tangle in my hair, keeping my head right where he wanted it. I hummed my approval and sucked on him with more fervor, drawing more pre-cum out and swallowing it, needing more, needing it to fill my belly.

And when I sank my mouth along his length another inch, I felt him pull me closer, making me take more of him. I moaned as more wetness spilled from me. My thighs were drenched, slick and slipping together in an obscene way. I lifted my hands and curled my fingers into his taut ass, feeling the muscles clench as he pushed inside of my mouth and pulled back.

He was fucking himself in my mouth, and for long seconds, I let him use me.

But this was about me showing him that I could bring him to his knees, so to speak. So I gently backed off and would've chuckled hearing his huff of irritation if my mouth wasn't full of cock.

I let his flesh pop free of my lips and gripped that heavy length in my hand, lifting it up so it rested against his belly, and then immediately leaned in and dragged my tongue along the underside. I traced that thick, pulsing vein that ran from the base to tip. He was growling above me, the sound echoing in the room. With my other hand, I grabbed his balls, kneading the heavy weights, feeling the skin tightening. I knew he was close.

With one more lick from base to tip along that pulsing vein, I sucked half his cock back into my mouth, trying to sink as deep as I could, taking as much as I could until I felt the head bump against the back of my throat. He groaned deeply, and as if he couldn't control himself, his hips jerked forward.

I gagged, and he backed off. My eyes were watering but my hands were right back on his ass, pulling him closer, wanting him to do it again. And he did.

When I felt the crown of his cock deep in my throat, I swallowed around him, loving how he cursed in Gaelic, feeling the sting of pain from his hands in my hair as he tightened his hold on the strands.

And then I found myself bobbing my head up and down, unable to take all of his cock, so I wrapped my hand around the base and started jerking off what I couldn't reach. I tasted spurts of his pre-cum shooting out of him and flowing down the back of my throat, bathing my tongue, and I knew he was so close. I wanted that; I wanted to swallow every single drop until I was drowning from it.

Banner suddenly pulled out of my mouth with a resounding pop, and I gasped out in surprise, about to protest that he hadn't let me finish, when he hauled me off the ground, gripped my chin with his big palm, and tilted my head back. He claimed my lips in a brutal, passionate action, pushing his tongue inside my mouth and exploring every single inch of me.

The kiss turned heated and frantic, sloppy even as he kissed every part of my mouth, around my lips, dragging his tongue over and over my sensitive flesh while I was helpless to do anything but take it all.

"Ah, lass, ye please me tae no end." He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "But when I come it's going tae be in your pussy, making ye take all my cum so ye smell like me from the inside out."

Before I could say anything in response, he hauled me off the ground, tossed me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing, and slapped my ass with that big paw of his. He molded his palm over one of the cheeks, growling low, and turned to walk to the bed.

Unceremoniously, he tossed me down, my body bouncing twice, anticipation coursing through me.

"Now," he said, and I turned so I was on my back and staring up at him. He took a step closer. "Now it's time for me tae thoroughly fuck my mate so she knows who is the dominant one." His grin was slow and wolfish. "And we're going tae ensure that by me leaving my marks on yer porcelain skin so everyone knows how much I'm obsessed with my wee female."